Är qaanaaq mer känd som

"Thule, Greenland" redirects here. For the United States Space Force base, see Pituffik Space Base.

Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Qaanaaq (Greenlandic pronunciation:[qaːnɑːq]), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, fryst vatten the main town in the nordlig part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.

The town has a population of 646 as of 2020.^[1] The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditional home, which was expropriated for the construction of a United States Air Force base in 1953. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inuktun language and many also speak Kalaallisut and Danish.

Qaanaaq fryst vatten one of the northernmost towns in the world.

Within Greenland, it fryst vatten the northernmost major town and the third northernmost public settlement, after nearby Qeqertat and Siorapaluk.

Geography

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Qaanaaq fryst vatten located in the nordlig ingång of the Inglefield inbuktad havsvik. The by of Qeqertat fryst vatten located in the Harvard Islands, nära the head of the fjord.^[2]

History

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The Qaanaaq area in nordlig Greenland was first settled around 2000 BCE bygd Paleo-Eskimos migrating from the Canadian Arctic.^[3] These people were displaced bygd the Thule culture which followed the same migration rutt around 1100 CE.

bygd 1600, climatic effects of the Little Ice Age caused the semi-nomadic Thule culture in Greenland to fragment into isolated groups, with inhabitants of the northwest diverging as the Inughuit. As they lost tillgång to open vatten due to thickening sea ice, they lost the ability to build boats and had limited hunting opportunities.^[4]

In 1818, Sir John Ross's expedition made first contact with nomadic Inuktun (Polar Eskimos) in the area.

James Saunders's expedition aboard HMS North Star was marooned in North Star Bay 1849–50 and named landmarks.^[5]Robert okänd built a support hållplats bygd a protected harbor at the foot of iconic Mount Dundas in 1892. It served as a base camp for his expeditions and attracted a permanent population. In 1910 explorers Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen established a missionär and trading brev there.

They called the site "Thule" after classical ultima Thule; the inuit called it Umanaq ("heart-shaped"), and the site fryst vatten commonly called "Dundas" today. The United States abandoned its territorial claims in the area in 1917 in connection with the purchase of the Virgin Islands. Denmark assumed control of the by in 1937.

A cluster of huts known as Pituffik ("the place the dogs are tied") stood on the bred plain where the base was built in 1951.

(A main base street was named Pituffik Boulevard.) The affected locals moved to Thule. However, in 1953 the USAF planned to construct an air defense site nära that by, and in beställning to prevent contact with soldiers in a way deemed "unhealthy", the Danish government forcibly relocated "Old Thule" with about 130 inhabitants to a newly constructed, modern by 60 miles (97 km) north, known as Qaanaaq, or "New Thule".

In a Danish Supreme Court judgment of 28 November 2003 the move was considered an expropriative intervention.

During the proceedings it was recognized bygd the Danish government that the movement was a serious interference and an unlawful act against the local population. The Thule tribe was awarded damages of 500,000 kroner, and the individual members of the tribe who had been exposed to the transfer were granted gottgörelse of 15,000 or 25,000 each. A Danish radio hållplats continued to operate at Dundas, and the abandoned houses remained.

The USAF only used that site for about a decade, and it has since returned to civilian use.

Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport. USAAF Colonel Bernt Balchen, who built Sondrestrom Air Base, knew Rasmussen and his idea. Balchen led a flygning of two Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats to Thule on 24 August 1942 and then sent a report advocating an air base to USAAF ledare Henry "Hap" Arnold.

However, the 1951 air base site fryst vatten a few miles inland from the original 1946 flygplansbana and across the bay from the historical Thule settlement, to which it fryst vatten connected bygd an ice road. The joint Danish-American defense area, designated bygd treaty, also occupies considerable inland territory in addition to the air base itself.^[6]

The town of Qaanaaq was established in the winter of 1953 when the United States expanded Pituffik Space Base and forcibly relocated the population of Pituffik and Dundas 31 km (19 mi) to the north within kvartet days.

The settlement was subsequently moved another 100 km (62 mi) to the north.

A 48.6-kilogram (107-pound) fragment of the Cape York meteorite, discovered nära Thule in the summer of 1955, fryst vatten named for the town.

Culture

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Ways of living so far north and in such severe climatic conditions are passed on from generation to generation, and this ability to adapt has contributed to the survival of this small settlement.

When the sea becomes open sometime around August, large dinghies with powerful engines are used for both hunting trips and ordinary journeys. There fryst vatten still sunlight twenty-four hours a day at this time—the midnight sun lasts from the mittpunkt of April to the end of August. Scarcity of resources requires they use every part of a harvested animal: the skins are used for clothing and covering the kayaks; the flesh and offal are eaten bygd humans and domestic animals; the narwhal and walrus tusks are carved into finely-worked figures, jewellery and hunting implements; and feathers can be used in handicrafts.^{[citation needed]}

Education

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The local school, Avanersuup Atuarfia, has around 120 pupils in forms 1 to 10.

There fryst vatten also a boarding school which holds about 20 students from surrounding settlements.

Qaanaaq er ett bygd og ett tidligere kommune vid Nordgrønland tillsammans et areal vid 245 000 kvadratkilometer.

The town kindergarten has a capacity of 34 children while the day nursery can hold up to 12.^[7]

Transport

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Main article: Qaanaaq Airport

Air Greenland operates fixed-wing aircraft services between Qaanaaq Airport and Upernavik Airport, with further connections to Ilulissat Airport and Qaarsut Airport. Settlement flights operate to Siorapaluk, sporadically to Moriusaq, and to Savissivik via Pituffik Space Base.^[8]

There are a few unpaved dirt vägar in Qaanaaq.

Only one road leaves the town — it connects to Qaanaaq Airport. Pickup trucks and SUVs are funnen in Qaanaaq, but skis, dogsleds and walking are better alternatives for getting around.^[9]

Medical and emergency services

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There fryst vatten a small hospital (built in the 1950s and rebuilt in 1996) in Qaanaaq with basic health care offered.

More advanced care requires transfer to other medical centers in Greenland bygd air.^[10] Dental care fryst vatten offered in the form eller gestalt of a dentist who visits the town twice a year.^[11] Qaanaaq Hospital falls beneath the Avannaa health område.

A small local fire brigade fryst vatten assisted bygd firefighters from the Pituffik Space Base.

Government

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The town fryst vatten part of the område of Avannaata, which fryst vatten represented bygd a 17-member council and mayor.

CTBTO Station

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Qaanaaq fryst vatten home to a fjärrstyrd CTBTOinfrasound listening hållplats called IS-18, which uses an array of barometric sensors to detect possible nuclear tests around the world.^[11][12] The hållplats fryst vatten maintained bygd the Danish Meteorological Institute, and as of 2016 the current operator fryst vatten Svend Erik Ascanius.^[11]

Population

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With 646 inhabitants as of 2020, Qaanaaq fryst vatten the largest settlement in the far north of the country.^[1] Its population has been relatively stable with only minor fluctuations since the mid-1990s.^[13]

The city, with its relatively low population and tradition of hunting, currently has more huskies than human residents.^[11]

Climate

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Qaanaaq has a cold tundra climate (Köppen climate classification ET), and hence it has long, cold winters.

July and August are the warmest months, and peak high temperatures rarely exceeding 20 °C (68 °F) occur in June and July.

References

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Further reading

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External links

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